BJP criticises Left quip on India-US nuclear deal

New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday criticised the Communist Party of India (CPI) for remarking that the India-US civilian nuclear deal would make India a US outpost against China, but refrained from endorsing the deal in its present form. “The BJP expresses concern over the remarks made by CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan that the India-US nuclear deal is an attempt to make India a US outpost against China. The CPI in its over-enthusiasm towards China seems to have forgotten that it is not a Chinese but an Indian political party,” BJP president Rajnath Singh said in a press communique.

Bardhan had made these remarks Saturday at a function to commemorate the 80th birth anniversary of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

“Ever since the idea of the nuclear deal has been mooted, the Left parties have consistently indicated that they are more concerned about protecting China’s interests than our own national and strategic interests,” Singh said.

The BJP is opposed to the deal in its present form arguing that India can not give away its right to conduct tests as envisaged in the deal.

Taking on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Rajnath Singh said it is engaging in “regular bouts of verbal boxing through the media and in the public domain”.

“Such statements and public posturing could actually jeopardize our long term and strategic relations with both the United States and China,” Singh said.

“The Left parties are trying to politicize the issue in an attempt to regain their waning political relevance and mass support, exposing their true colours in the process,” he said.

Singh said the UPA government was held hostage by the Left and, as a result, was unable to make any progress on important issues.